CDC Advises Against Traveling To These 3 Destinations Amid Growing COVID Warnings

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned Americans about traveling to another three destinations that had worsening COVID cases on Monday, increasing their warning level to its highest risk category as the nations saw cases of the virus increase in recent days.

Added to the CDC's Level 3 "high" risk category were the Philippines, Russia, and Nepal. All three places had more than 100 COVID cases per 100,000 residents reported in the past 28 days – an increase from the previous week.

The CDC's Level 3 "high" risk category has ballooned to almost 130 locations out of the about 235 places the agency is currently monitoring.

Level 3 is currently the highest COVID advisory level provided by the agency, as Level 4 has now been reserved for extreme cases of the virus, the emergence of a new variant, or the collapse of a healthcare system. There are no nations listed in Level 4 to date.

Level 3, however, holds much of the world's most popular travel destinations, including most of Europe, the Caribbean, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, Costa Rica, and Malaysia.

The CDC has issued a warning about traveling to a Level 3 nation, saying that American travelers should be up to date with their COVID shots. The agency also says that "Even if you are up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines, you may still be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19."

Also seeing worsening COVID cases this week was the small island of São Tomé and Príncipe, which moved from Level 1 "low" risk to Level 2 "moderate" risk on Monday.

The island's COVID cases rose from a reported 50 to 100 cases per 100,000 residents in the past 28 days, sliding it into the CDC's Level 2 risk category.

There are less than 20 destinations listed in the Level 2 category currently, including Indonesia, India, South Africa, and Kenya.

No changes were made to the CDC's Level 1 "low" risk category on Monday, which is determined as having 49 or fewer COVID cases per 100,000 residents reported over the past 28 days.

The Level 1 category currently includes about 25 nations such as Cuba, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Tanzania, China, and Nigeria.

Lastly, the CDC added two places to its "unknown" risk category with the additions of Comoros and Guinea-Bissau. Both locations were previously listed in the Level 1 category.

An "unknown" nation typically has unreliable information about its COVID situation due to its remoteness or ongoing warfare or unrest. The CDC does advise against traveling to a location listed in the "unknown" risk category.

There are currently more than 65 nations listed in the CDC's "unknown" risk category, including Hungary, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Armenia, the Maldives, Macau, and Venezuela.